Genetic Disease

The last Thursday of every month - the mouse always salvaged a calendar in January of each new year - was house-cleaning day in the drainpipe.  That meant, for all practical purposes, that Tucker rearranged the clutter of everything that he'd ever collected.  He promised Harry every month that he would get rid of the useless possessions, but Tucker had one of those hoarding souls that couldn't bear to lose a thing.  So he moved all the junk to new locations - at least it made the drainpipe look different - and called it cleaning house.  And each month, with an aching heart full of pride, he did throw away something - but only so he could say to Harry, "Well, I got rid of that, didn't I?"  Four weeks ago it had been a shoelace - horrible loss! - that he put back into the same trash basket that he'd pulled it out of the day before, and this month - this month - Tucker looked around.  The broken glasses had to stay - a real prize, that - and so did the brass belt buckle.  But at last he decided that with a great effort of will he could stand to be separated from a hairpin he'd found two weeks ago.  With a heavy sigh he threw it out the drainpipe opening, and hoped that some young lady might find it, and wash it, and use it.  It wasn't that he was completely a miser - he was a bit of one to be sure - but Tucker also couldn't bear the thought of anything being simply wasted.

Harry Cat's Pet Puppy by George Selden

It's a sad sickness that seems to run in the family.  I'll be the first to admit that I myself may possess a touch of it mainly due to my parent's each passing it along.  I know my grandfather suffered terribly (his "building" bearing testimony), and conversations of late with my mother seem to indicate that her grandfather was afflicted as well.  At least two of our children have inherited the genes, with Stephen showing the most symptoms.

But what many consider a vice has it's bright side of virtue: if you are in need of something strange or uncommon, something out of the ordinary or useless, chances are we can have it.

If only it can be located!